The dew on the winter grasses of the bushland glimmered like tawny amber in the first rays of the sunrise.
New sprouts of green grass thrust up beside the roots of last year’s dried grasses. Puffs of dancing clouds pranced before the light of the new day. The plains became a sun-dappled paradise.

Faces of America
strong in their belief
of our kinship
drawn together in
a collective sadness
remembering the lost
who died doing their
daily business
as usual
faces, languages of all
shapes and colors,
more than a blending
of the world
human beings who
believe in the right
to be free and live
the best life they can
create
Americans born into
the ultimate responsibility
the privilege
of living in peace
together
Christian, Muslim, Jew,
Sikh, Buddhist
all faiths
all colors
in a rainbow
of love and acceptance
we’ve shown our children
and the spirits of the
Americans who preserved
freedom before us
That we are worthy of their hope and trust.